Tributes pour in for Mountie

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This article was published 14/12/2019 (1586 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg’s sports teams and police are paying tribute to Const. Allan Poapst, the Manitoba RCMP officer, father of three teenage girls, and passionate local sports fan who died in a highway collision on the edge of Winnipeg late Friday afternoon.

Forty-nine-year-old Poapst was on duty, driving westbound on the Perimeter Highway east of Highway 7, when his RCMP vehicle was struck by an eastbound pickup truck that crossed the median. He was just five days away from 13 years of service with the RCMP, the force said.

Manitoba RCMP commander Assistant Commissioner Jane MacLatchy remembered Poapst as a dedicated officer who was “well-liked across the force” during a brief news conference Saturday.

“We’re a tight group, and it really pains us when we lose somebody from our family,” said MacLatchy. “D Division is a branch of that family, and this is rattling.”

MacLatchy also remembered Poapst as a “massive Blue Bombers fan” in a statement issued Saturday.

“He recently realized a dream when he attended the Grey Cup game in Calgary, and watched his beloved Blue Bombers win — bringing the Cup back to Winnipeg.”

The Blue Bombers issued a message of condolence to Poapst’s family via Twitter on Saturday. The team has contacted the RCMP and plans to contact Poapst’s family directly to offer support, wrote spokesperson Darren Cameron in an emailed statement Sunday.

“Many friends and coworkers of Constable Poapst have reached out to the organization to tell stories about his passion for his Bombers,” Cameron wrote.

“We’re thankful Constable Poapst was able to celebrate with us in Calgary and we’re looking to see if we can do anything more to help his grieving family and friends in this incredibly difficult time.”

Poapst was also a fan of the Winnipeg Jets, and volunteered with the team’s True North Youth Foundation. The Jets observed a moment of silence for Poapst before Sunday night’s home game against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Dwayne Green, executive director of the True North Youth Foundation, described Poapst as “an empathetic volunteer in our Winnipeg Jets Hockey Academy, making a positive impact in the lives of many kids.”

“Const. Poapst was a committed volunteer who took the time to genuinely listen and build relationships with the youth of our province,” Green wrote in a statement, along with condolences to Poapst’s family and the RCMP.

Winnipeg police officers and cadets lined up their vehicles in front of RCMP D Division headquarters on Portage Ave. Saturday night, with their blue-and-red emergency lights flashing to honour Poapst’s memory. A group of officers stood in silence in front of the building, video posted to the Winnipeg Police Service’s Facebook page shows.

“We just wanted to do something to let our colleagues know at RCMP how this impacts everyone,” said Winnipeg police spokesperson Const. Rob Carver on Sunday.

“I think really, it has to do with all first responders. One of the inherent risks of our jobs — for sure police, but (firefighters) and paramedics as well — we know that most deaths occur in traffic-related situations,” he said.

“And no matter how much preparation we do in terms of preparing for violent encounters, our biggest risk is always on the streets. And this is a horrible example of that.”

Federal public safety minister Bill Blair also offered his sympathies to Const. Poapst’s loved ones and colleagues in a message posted to Twitter on Saturday.

The collision that killed Poapst remains under investigation, the RCMP said Sunday.

With files from Melissa Martin

solomon.israel@freepress.mb.ca

@sol_israel